Journal box and bearing



Sept. 22, 1931.

T. BIRD JOURNAL BOX AND BEARING 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 24. 1929 Ill INVENTOR heo clore Bird WITNESS ES ATTORNEYS Se t."22, 1931'. T. BIRD: 1,824,702

JOURNAL BOX AND BEARING Filed April 24, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheer 2 2f 2 6 2 8 31 m5 I i i l z 2 s i (w 1 I l l I I I l l l a f I l l m? 27' 29 27 WITNESSES 'NVENTOR I T/l e o ore Bird wwfiw Patented Sept. 22, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE THEODORE 311m; oFsoRANroiv; PENNSYLVANIA OURNAL Box A D BEARING Application filed Aprill1 929. Serial N0.'357,829.'

This invention relates to bearings, and has particular reference to certain improvements in journal boxes and bearingsfor mine cars, tipple cars or other similar light cars of these types.

In order to generally improve and simplify the construction of journal boxes and bearings of this nature and to overcome certain objections and disadvantages which have been found to exist in theusual types now in general use, the present invention aims for one of its principal objects to provide a journal box equipped with a liquid 1 lubricant reservoir and formed with a socket for the journal bearing, which socket communicates with the reservoir and. by virtue of which arrangement, the bearing will be periodically supplied with lubricant both by splashing and gravitational action resulting from the sudden startings and stoppings of the car whereby proper lubri cation and the elimination of hot boxes are insured. 1

The invention further comprehends a journal bearing block which is; preferably constructed of hard wood or an equivalent absorbent material, which is initially impregnated with a lubricant and which is snugly fitted in a socket in a-journal box, which box is provided wlth one or more liquid lubricant reservoirs having communication with the socket in order to supply'lubricant to the journal bearing block for maintaining the same condition;

More specifically, the invention contem plates a journal box having a socket "for receiving a hard wood or similar absorbent; bearing block, which socket and block are so shaped and interfitted as to preclude splitting ofthe block." P a a As a still further object, the invention embodies a journal box and-bearing'provided' with registering lubricant 'ports' and pas-V sages which insure a uniform distribution of the lubricant received from a lubricant reservoir constituting apart of the journal box.

With theabove recited and other objects in view, reference is had to the following in a thoroughly saturated Figure 1 is an outer side view of the jourdescription and accompanying drawings, in

illustrating the same mounted on the sill'of the car and showing in broken lines the car wheel and journal; I

Figure 5 is an enlarged plan view of the block. 7 I

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the block. Figure 7 is a fragmentary longitudinal. sectional view throughthe journal box and bearing. block illustratinga slightly modifiedform of the invention. 1.. Referring to. the drawings by characters of reference, 10 designates the upper'wall of the journal box, which walljis provided with the usual upstanding bosses, ll adapted to fit withincorrespondingly shaped recesses in the sillA of the car when the upper surface of thevwall 10 is applied to the under surface of the car sill. The wall 10 and "bosses 11 are provided with the usual bore 12 designed to. receive the bolts for attaching the journal box to the car.

U The wall 10 is provided with adepending portion 13 intermediate its length, and said portion 1-3 is provided with a centrally disposed socket lwhich is open at the lower end and closed at-the upper'end by the lower surface of thelwall lO Preferably, the socket 14 is formedwith .upwardly converging and downwardly diverging side and end walls 15 and 16. 'Thedepending portion 13 between its opposite ends and-the end'walllfi of the socket is'provided with hollow chambers 17 and 18 adapted to contain lubricant and to constitute liquid lubricant reservoirs. These hollow spaces or chambers 17 and 18 are'provided with filling openings 19 and 20 which extend through the outer side wall of the dependingportion 13 adj acent' the upper end of the chambers and slightly below the upper wall 10 of the journal box. In the preferred form of the invention, outlet ports or slots 21 and 22 are formed in the walls 16 adjacent the upperportion thereof, and

said ports incline downwardly from the' chambers 17 and 18 to the socket 14 and serve to establish communication between the lubricant reservoirs and said socket for a purpose that will be hereafter set forth.

The journal bearing block designated generally by the reference character 23 is in the nature of a frustum of a square pyramid and conforms generally-to the size and coin figuration of the socket 14. The journal block is formed on its underv side with a transverse substantially semi-circular groove 24' and the side walls of the depending .por-

' tion 13 are similarly formed'with'the transversely disposed aligned semi-circular notches 25. The journal bearingblock 23 is provided with lubricant passages '26 and 27 which extend through its opposite end walls 28 and 29 which fit againstthe end walls 16 of the socket 14, and-said lubricant passages are adapted to register with the outlet slots or ports-21 and 22. The lubricant passages 26 and 27 lead inwardly and downwardly at an angle from the Walls 28 and 29 to the semi-circular groove 24 which accommodates the journal B of the car wheel C. Preferably, a plurality of passages 26 and 27 extend through the wall 16 and through the journal bearing block, and

in practice said passages will be staggered, as illustrated clearly in Figure 5 of the drawings. Where the journal bearing block a "is 'of wood or anabsorbent material, it :will be initially impregnated or saturat'edwi'th the desired lubricant and after the sameis inserted in the receiving socket 14 of the journal box,'the liquid lubricant introduced 'tothe lubricant reservoirs 17 and 18th-rough their filling openings 19 and 20 will be periodically supplied to the block and directly led to the surface of the journal bearing groove 24 through the medium of the ports 21 and 22 and passages 26 and 27. The feeding of the lubricant will "be accomplished by a combined splashing and gravitational action which is caused by the'su'd den startings and stoppings of the cars, which tends to splash the liquid lubricant 'againstthe walls 16 and thenthrough the downwardly directed ports. 22 into the reg istering passages 26 and '27 and against the sides of theblocln In practice;where' the block is constructed ofwood, the grain will be arranged vertically and due-tothe fact that the block is completely confined :and

maintained in the receiving socket l4,- -it is obvious that the tendency of the same to split is practically precluded I In order to provide-means for enclosing "and protecting the lower and outer sides- 0f the journal box and the journal block and journal, a cover plate is employed designated generally by the reference character 30. The cover plate includes a bottom wall 31 and a side wall 32. The bottom wall is outwardly projecting jecting apertured keeper ears 36 which are a designed to project through corresponding openings 37 in the side Wall 32 of thecover plate. Cotter pins or other fastening .ele ments 38 are inserted through the apertured ears 36 to prevent accidental displacementi of the cover plate. In order to facilitate the removal of the journal bearing :block from its socket 14, the depending portion 13 is provided with an opening 39 in the outer serted for prying the journal block loose. It :is obvious that this opening is normally covered by the cover plate wall 32.

' In the modified adaptation of the invenside wall, through which a tool may be in t tion illustrated in Figure 7, the ports 21 171 and 22a are formed at a point adjacentthe lowerend of the reservoir so that the lubricant s gravitationally fed therefrom through said ports and the passageways 26a and 27a of the journal bearing block 23(491 In-,allother respects, the journal box and bearing are identical with the preferred form of the invention.

While the journal bearing :block has been or a similar absorbent-material, it is to .be

understood that within -'the scope of tho i-present invention said block'may be of metal --or any other non-absorbent material.

like, abody having a downwardly opening bearing socket andhaving a closed chamber ad acent-said socket defining a lubricant described as preferably constructed of wood reservoir, the portion of said body separat- -ing said :socket and chamber having a lubri- -:cant outlet port for 'establish-ingcommunication therebetween, said port ibeing disposed adj'acent the upper endofthe seham her and directed downwardly towardsaid socket whereby the lubricant is intermittently supplied to the bearing 'socket by a vsplashing action caused by a repeated sujd- -den startin and stopping o-f-the car and [an earing block disposed in the bearing socket with a lateral lubricant passage from the outlet port.

absorbent 2. In a journal bearing block for mine "cars or the like, a journal zbox having a downwardly opening .Jbearing socket =ot' gradually increasing cross sectional area from the upper closed end to the lower open socket for intermittently supplying lubricant to the bearing block by a splashing action caused by starting and stopping of the car, said bearing block having a transverse journal bearing groove in its under side and a lubricant passageway radiating therefrom and communicating with the lubricant chamber outlet port for directly conveying a portion of the lubricant to the journal. bearing groove. j

3. In a journal bearing box for mine cars, a journal boX having a bearing socket and a lubricant chamber at a side of the bearing socket with a lateral port extending from the upper portion of the lubricant chamber to the bearing socket, and an absorbent bearing block in the bearing socket, the bearing block having a lubricant passage leading from the port.

4. In a journal bearing box for mine cars, a journal box having a bearing socket with two lubricant chambers, one at each end of the bearing socket, there being ports connecting the uppenportions of the lubricant chambers with the bearing socket, and a bearing block in the socket having a bearing groove and obliquely disposed passages from the ports to the bearing groove.

5. In a journal bearing box 'for mine cars, a journal box having a bearing socket with two lubricant chambers, one at each, end

of the bearing socket, there being ports connecting the upper portions of the lubricant chambers with the bearing socket, and an absorbent bearing block in the socket having a bearing groove and obliquely disposed passages from the ports to the bearing groove.

' THEODORE BIRD. 

